Chapter 580: The Demon King's chess pieces are still exerting force

In Roland City in November, the first snow after winter arrived.

Fine snow particles fell on the roof of the black carriage, making a rustling sound.

That sound should have been soft and beautiful, but at this moment it sounded like something was rotting quietly.

Tanos looked toward the gray sky through the crack in the carriage window, the collar of his wool coat standing up, burying that pale face in the shadows.

"It seems this winter will be very cold." Looking at the city gate that was getting closer, he raised an index finger and pressed the brim of his bowler hat down lightly.

The Demon King's worry ended up being in vain; the Shadow Demon General was destined to be the chess piece on his chessboard that was least likely to have problems.

This guy was not only full of tricks, but also very cautious.

The carriage stopped in front of the city gate.

The wooden fence of the sentry post was half-open, and several soldiers stood in the middle of the road lazily, their cotton-padded clothes full of coal ash and stains.

Looking at the carriage driving toward them, they were like fishermen who had finally waited for the fish to take the bait, and became spirited. One of them walked straight to the carriage window, smashed the carriage door rudely with his fist, and scolded with full momentum.

"Get down."

The coachman Navi jumped from the front seat, bowing his waist and apologizing with a smile, that face was so thin that the cheekbones protruded, and the skin was a sickly waxy yellow.

"Officer, this is a merchant from the south—"

"Shut up, the thing I hate most is people from the south," the soldier didn't even look at him, his gaze fixed on the carriage, "Where are you from? Be specific!"

The carriage door opened, Tanos did not get off, just swept over several soldiers with those eyes hidden under the brim of his hat, a decent smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"Wulan Port."

Saying this, he reached into his coat to rummage for the clearance documents that were not important at all, and then "accidentally" dropped a box of cigarettes on the ground.

Those soldiers were also people who knew the goods, and their eyes went straight the moment they saw the cigarette box.

Especially the leader, his attitude changed 180 degrees, the corners of his mouth almost split to the roots of his ears, and the things he was about to interrogate were forgotten in an instant.

"Oh, so it's a distinguished guest from the south! Why didn't you say so earlier? Please invite our guest in!"

He said while nimbly bending down to pick up the cigarette box, and greeting his brothers to open the door.

"Sir, come find me next time, my name is Jerry, everyone knows me, if you need any help, just speak up."

Cigarettes!

This new thing that spread from the front line of Count Spinor's territory had now become the hard currency of Roland City, even more famous than the "Encyclopedia" and the "New Testament" that first spread here.

Next was the silver pound, then the silver coin.

As for gold coins, those were toys for kings and nobles, and would not appear in the pockets of ordinary people at all. And copper coins? No one would be interested in those things that were about to shatter into sand.

Tanos smiled slightly, looking at those soldiers who suddenly started calling him brothers, just like watching a good show.

"Definitely."

If they could live until then.

The wooden fence was pushed open, and the carriage set off again, driving slowly into the wind-and-snow-tossed Roland City.

Behind him, Jerry's partners were already impatient to divide the spoils, and were arguing endlessly about who got more.

Not far away was the station of the Lionheart Knights, the barracks flying the golden lion flag were clearly visible, but the knights obviously couldn't manage this place.

Perhaps it was disdain to manage, perhaps it was that they were too busy to take care of themselves.

According to the intelligence of the Stigma organization, Hage Mo brought back tens of thousands of refugees.

Those beggars who had been driven out of the capital, survivors returning home with obsessions, and people who had nothing left after their food and grass were "requisitioned" along the way by the Knights—they were pouring into Roland City like locusts, swallowing the last vitality of this city.

The original intention of the Lionheart Knights was probably good, but it brought a fatal blow to this city that was already riddled with holes.

Not just hunger and severe cold, Roland City was now falling into a three-way melee.

At first, it was the slaughter between the Gravekeepers and the Charter faction; those assassins raised by the King bit like mad dogs at anyone who dared to question the royal power.

And the revolutionaries of the Charter faction did not retreat either, maneuvering with them in every street and every house, fighting back bravely without fear of death.

Just at this precarious moment, the angry lion finally returned to the nest, but unexpectedly was caught between the Charter faction and the Gravekeepers, unable to advance or retreat.

This was the weirdest part of the situation in Roland City.

"Death Knell" Cassius was suspected of having received support from external forces, and actually fought the "Radiant Knight" Hage Mo to a draw.

Both sides accused each other of being treacherous officials, swearing to defend the kingdom. And Xioden Devalu sat steadily on the balcony, watching the lions and hyenas he raised fight, helping neither side.

Navi muttered something in the front seat, the sound so small it was almost inaudible, but clearly it couldn't escape the ears of the Shadow Demon General.

【What a waste.】

He seemed to be feeling sorry for his guest, as bribing those big-headed soldiers didn't need a whole box of cigarettes at all. Or perhaps he was just jealous of those guys carrying guns, because just because the guns were in their hands, no matter how many people starved to death, they wouldn't starve.

Even if everyone in the city starved to death, they could live safely to the end, and even have cigarettes to smoke.

Tanos had a playful smile on his mouth, fully appreciating that shrinking back. As a demon, there was no sympathy for humans in his heart, only feeling that the breath was as sweet as honey.

Ba Yeli above—

Oh no, now it's the Demon King above!

After all, in the few hundred years that Ba Yeli ruled hell, such interesting things had never happened on the surface.

With reverence for the Demon King, Tanos's gaze moved away from the coachman's back, drifting slowly toward the streets on both sides.

The once glorious capital was divided into twisted trenches by barricades. Furniture, stones, wooden barrels, door panels, everything that could be moved was piled together.

Behind the barricades stood some men vaguely. Some held spears, some held flintlock guns. These people were not all insurgents of the Charter faction; more people were just guarding their own streets, guarding against soldiers and robbers who intended to take advantage of the fire.

That looked like antelopes baring their teeth.

And in the tavern not far from them, a few corpses that looked no different from them were hung on the sign.

Those corpses swayed in the wind, like frozen wind chimes. Occasionally, a few crows could be seen landing on their shoulders, unscrupulously pecking at the already frozen flesh, feasting in the doomsday.

Compared to here, the hell slandered in the "Holy Word Book" was not worth mentioning at all.

Tanos sighed in his heart, humans are still the best at knowing how to torture themselves.

"Sir."

The coachman's voice came from the front seat, carrying a touch of cautious probing.

"What's wrong?" Tanos's tone was gentle and elegant, very much like the Demon King he both respected and feared.

"Do you need a servant? Or a guide... Navi said hurriedly, "I am very familiar with this city, I have lived here since I was a child—"

"Very sorry, I don't need it."

"Is that so... sorry, pretend I didn't ask." Navi's shoulders shrank a circle again, seemingly regretting not being able to climb onto this meal ticket.

"Don't be sorry for such things. In addition, although I don't need a guide, I am still very happy to chat with you about your hometown."

Saying this, Tanos took out a paper cigarette from the inner pocket of his coat and handed it to the front of the carriage through the opened door curtain.

Seeing that cigarette, Navi's hand shook, and his voice stuttered instantly.

"This... this is too valuable, sir, I..."

"Take it, this is your reward."

Looking at that face that clearly wanted it very much, the smile hidden under the brim of Tanos's hat became even more mischievous.

Navi stretched out his hand tremblingly, took the cigarette, and carefully put it into his close-fitting pocket.

He didn't light it like those soldiers.

Even in Roland City where food was scarce, a cigarette could be exchanged for many things that money couldn't buy, and could even save his family's life.

"Thank you, sir," Navi's voice was a bit choked, "You... are really a good person."

Tanos did not respond to this sentence.

Good person.

This word coming out of a human's mouth and falling into a demon's ear was really a bit ridiculous.

Feeling the atmosphere a bit cold, Navi swallowed the choked emotion and continued.

"What do you want to know? I will definitely know everything."

"Let me think," Tanos swept his gaze from a barricade with slogans, and continued in a chatty tone, "First tell me about those people, they seem to look a bit different from others?"

Navi glanced at them nervously, and quickly moved his gaze away, as if he were afraid of being involved with them.

"Those guys are probably eyes of the Charter faction, some people also call them the National Assembly. Of course... this is just my guess, they generally don't operate during the day."

Tanos asked with interest.

"What do you think of them?"

Navi did not answer immediately.

Until the carriage wheel rolled over a gravel, making a clatter, it broke this short silence.

"I don't know, sir."

His voice sounded very confused.

"I, like other citizens, feel their ideas are very good, but..."

He paused, his voice lower.

"Their chances of winning are too small. Look at those corpses? Those corpses are almost all theirs, and quite a few of them were skilled stonemasons."

Tanos followed his gaze, and another corpse swayed in the wind and snow, those hollow eyes extremely like the confusion in Navi's eyes.

"What a pity."

"Yeah."

Navi sighed, his voice carrying a kind of indescribable sadness.

"After this year, Roland City will probably never be able to build such magnificent buildings as the Summer Palace and the Saint Roland Cathedral again."

Tanos did not take the conversation.

What really concerned him was another question.

"What about the Gravekeepers?"

Navi's body trembled obviously.

The reins in his hands tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened.

"Sir... please forgive me, I... I dare not evaluate them."

Tanos's smile became more and more mischievous, and he handed out two more cigarettes, placing them gently in the coachman's pocket.

"Talk about it, just to satisfy my curiosity. I am an outsider, can I still report you? I won't cause trouble for myself."

Navi's Adam's apple rolled, perhaps thinking of the children waiting to be fed, or perhaps thinking of his wife lying in bed sick.

He gritted his teeth and finally opened his mouth.

"I can only tell you, you'd better not provoke them. Those guys... are already mad."

Seeming to feel that this sentence was not worth two cigarettes, and worried that the reward would be taken back, Navi added a few sentences behind.

"They kill people every day. Not just insurgents, but also some people who were inexplicably targeted. No matter what they did to be targeted, once they were taken away by them, don't think about living to see the sun of the next day... even the corpses can't be seen."

Tanos asked curiously.

"What about Hage Mo? Our hero, just sit idly by?"

Mentioning this name, Navi's expression was a bit complex.

"Hage Mo Lord... he of course couldn't stand it, otherwise he wouldn't have drawn his sword against... that person."

The fear of "Death Knell" had been carved into his bones, so much so that even that name made him feel hot, not daring to say it easily.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, skipped that person and continued.

"I am very worried about Hage Mo Lord. He is a truly good person, if there is one knight left in the Land of Knights, it must be him. It's just... his kindness harmed himself, and harmed the people around him. We can all feel that the King no longer trusts him."

Tanos asked curiously.

"Isn't he the King's brother?"

"Yes, but... didn't Edward also lock his own brother on an island? " Navi smiled bitterly, and continued, "Things in the palace are always so hard to figure out, we ordinary people outside the castle, it's better not to get involved."

Tanos smiled indifferently.

This coachman was quite insightful, but unfortunately it was of no use.

"It seems the royal family's business can't be done."

He sighed with feigned regret, leaned back in his chair, and changed the subject.

"What about ordinary people? You know I am a tobacco merchant, I am looking for business opportunities. Who do you think would be interested in my goods?"

Navi was silent for a moment, then the silence turned into a bitter smile.

"Business? Sir, stop joking, what time is it now, forget your business. What people here need most is food and firewood... although I am not sure if I will need those things tomorrow."

Tanos: "So pessimistic?"

Navi lowered his head.

"Do I have any reason to be optimistic?"

The carriage continued to move forward, passing through one desolate street after another, but the barricades were visibly fewer.

On the contrary, there were more and more slogans on the walls. Some were about the Charter, some were about bread, and all the spearheads were clearly pointed at the King.

Xioden didn't seem to notice, or perhaps didn't care at all, after all, the two strongest supernatural powers in this city were in his hands.

No matter how they fought, it was for his crown.

Including the National Assembly.

Although they shouted treasonously that they would no longer be loyal to any secular monarch, they didn't dare to say they wanted to change a king for the Laine Kingdom.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, as if to bury the entire city.

Navi's voice sounded again, this time talking to himself.

"It's all retribution."

Tanos's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"What."

Navi continued with a bitter smile.

"There is an old madman near our house who went crazy during the Winter Moon last year, and probably got some unclean things on him. He talks to the wall every day, saying that the dead souls who died in the Winter Moon are coming to claim their lives..."

Interesting saying.

Tanos didn't express his own opinion, but smiled in his heart with disapproval.

The people of the Holy Light who once built the Saint Roland Cathedral actually started to believe in the crazy words of folk shamans. It seems the Church's influence in this city had indeed become minimal.

For a demon like him, this was of course a good thing.

Perhaps the task the Demon King gave him was not as desperate as he had initially imagined...

The carriage finally stopped in front of a hotel.